TORONTO – Classic movies from Astral Media’s Mpix and Mescape will now be available to distributors through Mpix OnDemand, the company announced today.
Mpix OnDemand will mark the second SVOD service for The Movie Network, which has been offering The Movie Network OnDemand since June 2004.
"The success of The Movie Network OnDemand clearly indicates that we have entered an on-demand world where consumers want and expect choice and convenience when it comes to their television viewing," said Domenic Vivolo, senior vice-president marketing and sales, Astral Television Networks, in a release. "Mpix OnDemand complements our existing SVOD service by extending the program offering to include movie titles from all genres and eras. We believe the service’s slate of classic hits will be extremely popular among our subscribers who are seeking recognizable titles and perennial favourites to round out their entertainment experience."
Since launching The Movie Network OnDemand, the service has grown to an average of three million views per month and satisfaction rates of more than 90%, with a corresponding positive effect on business retention, says the company.
Super Écran Sur Demande, Astral Media’s French-language movie service, has realized comparable success with more than half a million transactions per month.
To point out the service’s ongoing potential, the press release quoted data from the Fast Forward Trend Analysis (prepared for the CRTC in August) done by Toronto-based Solutions Research Group, which said:
* 12% of Canadian households use either a DVR or VOD
* On-demand use (DVR or VOD) is expected to rise to 30% of all Canadian households in the next five years (either via cable or DTH)
* 44% of Canadian digital cable customers (just over a million households) have used VOD (paid or free)
* 58% of VOD and DVR users say on-demand has significantly increased their levels of enjoyment with television
Mpix OnDemand’s programming offering will draw from a broad range of films which are five years or older, in an uncut and commercial-free environment, from suspense, thriller and action-packed movies to quality drama and light-hearted entertainment.
The service will offer over 30 titles at any given time with new titles added weekly. In December for example, viewers can look forward to Rocky I-V, Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, The Color Purple, Beverley Hills Cop, The Great Escape, The Princess Bride and Barefoot in the Park. Mpix OnDemand’s line-up in the New Year will include favourites like An Officer and a Gentleman, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Magnificent Seven and The Pink Panther collection.
Mpix OD will also commemorate the Academy Awards(R) in February 2007 with a special offering of Oscar-nominated and awarded movies.
The service is available to Rogers customers on channel 311 in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and there are plans to roll out to other areas of eastern Canada in the next year.
